Biology of Aging

Observations and Principles

Third Edition

Robert Arking

Robert Arking's Biology of Aging is an introductory text to the biology of aging which gives advanced undergraduate and graduate students a thorough review of the entire field. The mass of data related to aging is summarized into fifteen focused chapters, each dealing with some particular aspect of the problem. His prior two editions have also served admirably as a reference text for clinicians and scientists. This new edition captures the extraordinary recent advances in our knowledge of the ultimate and proximal mechanisms underlying the phenomenon of aging.

Biology of Aging

Observations and Principles

Third Edition

Robert Arking

Description

Robert Arking's Biology of Aging, 3rd edition, is an introductory text to the biology of aging which gives advanced undergraduate and graduate students a thorough review of the entire field. His prior two editions have also served admirably as a reference text for clinicians and scientists. This new edition captures the extraordinary recent advances in our knowledge of the ultimate and proximal mechanisms underlying the phenomenon of aging. As a result, six important conceptual changes are included here: · Clarified distinctions between the biological mechanisms involved in longevity determination and those involved in senescent processes. · A new conceptual framework around which we can organize all the new facts about aging. This will assist readers to make
sense of the information and use the data to form their own ideas. · Increased knowledge of aging cells has lead to new ideas on how a cell transits from a healthy state to a senescent state, while still allowing for high levels of intra- and inter-specific variability. · Discussion of senescent mechanisms assists the reader to understand that aging is a non-programmatic loss of function, likely arising from the loss of regulatory signals, and so is modifiable in the laboratory. · Because the standard evolutionary story does not fully explain the evolution of social organisms, this edition also includes recent work dealing with intergenerational resource transfers. · Lastly, if aging mechanisms are plastic, then the demand to move these anti-aging interventions into the human arena will
inevitably grow. A discussion of the biological and ethical arguments on both sides of the question frames the question in an appropriate manner.

The mass of data related to aging is summarized into fifteen focused chapters, each dealing with some particular aspect of the problem. The last two chapters integrate all this material into a coherent view of how the relevant biological processes change over the life span. This view is expressed in two non-technical figures (you might say that the whole book exists to fully support Figs 9-4 & 14-9), whose meanings are elucidated as the reader progresses through the book.

Biology of Aging

Observations and Principles

Third Edition

Robert Arking

Table of Contents

PART I: What Is Aging? 1. Perspectives on Aging2. Measuring Age-related Changes in Populations3. Measuring Age-related Changes in IndividualsPART II: Why Do We Age? 4. Evolutionary and Comparative Aspects of Longevity and SenescencePART III: How Do We Age? 5. Human Aging6. Altering Aging: Interventions That Modify Longevity and Senescence7. Genetic Determinants of Longevity in Animal Models8. Genetic and Social Aspects of Aging in HumansPART IV: What Is the Mechanistic Basis of Aging and Senscence? 9. Mechanisms Underlying the Transition from Health to Senescence10. Stochastic Theories of Aging11. Systemic Theories of Senescence12. Senescence as a Breakdown of Intracellular Regulatory
Processes13. Senescence as a Breakdown of Intercellular Regulatory ProcessesPART V: An Integrated Theory of Aging 14. A Theory of Aging over the Life SpanPART VI: What Can We Do about Aging? 15. Aging-related Research and Its Impact on Society

Biology of Aging

Observations and Principles

Third Edition

Robert Arking

Author Information

Robert Arking is a Professor of Biological Sciences at Wayne State University. His research involves the mechanisms underlying the onset of senescenece in Drosophila.

Biology of Aging

Observations and Principles

Third Edition

Robert Arking

Reviews and Awards

"This third edition is a timely and important contribution that compiles historical and recent research findings in a highly readable form and, as well, tackles some of the difficult conceptual problems in understanding aging"--American Journal of Human Biology